A Second Screen Experience Isn't Optional For Upcoming PC Strategy Game 'Salvaged'

Bristol, UK-based developer Opposable Games is creating a real-time-strategy game where the second screen experience is required -- and the second screen itself is your PC.

Tablets are practically ubiquitous.
Apple sold about 70 million iPads in 2013, and it's estimated that tablet sales packing
Google's Android sold 121 million. Armed with that logic, Opposable Games is making the tablet a player's main controller and using the PC (running Windows, OS X, or Linux) the second screen in their crowdfunded game Salvaged.

At its core, Salvaged is a tactical strategy game about recovering black boxes from downed spaceships, collecting loot, and surviving alien worlds. It's played from a top-down perspective and controlled on your tablet, while the PC side of the dual-screen experience is used to see through your squad's eyes. You direct your character's positions, specify their targets, and dictate their overall strategy. Meanwhile, your PC feeds you the squad's first-person point of view.

"The information you get looking through the eyes of your team perfectly compliments the information you're getting looking through this raw top-down view," one of the devs explains during their Kickstarter video. "You're in total control but disconnected at the same time."

Salvaged Second Screen Experience

Player control isn't limited to tactics and movement, however. The developers state that you'll be able to hack into ships' computer systems to open and close doors and restore lighting and power -- hopefully in the interest of guiding your squad through an unknown ship.

What's immediately appealing beyond the dual-screen interactivity is the fact that Salvaged takes inspiration from the rogue-like genre. It features a randomly generated and seemingly infinite universe. Enemies, loot, wrecks, and equipment changes with each playthrough. The team also gives an affectionate nod to iconic strategy games like XCOM with the implementation of permanent death. Lose one member of your crew during a mission and you'll live to salvage another day. Lose all four and your license is revoked, meaning game over.

A further glimpse into their inspirations should bring a smile to the faces of seasoned PC gamers:

"Classic games like Captive, Space Hulk (the 1993 version), and Hired Guns – with their single-player team controls which have yet to be really replicated for the modern era. We love the tactical strategy of the early Rainbow Six games and the amazing versatility of control and visuals offered by Frozen Synapse; similarly the immediacy of control of games like Syndicate plays directly into the real-time nature of Salvaged."

Salvaged has been in development for the better part of two years, but the small team at Opposable Games is looking to Kickstarter to supplement their existing investment into the game, build links with the community, and incorporate ideas directly from fans.

The team is seeking to raise $150,000 by mid-May. Backers who contribute $65 higher gain access to weekly development builds and can take actively discuss new features and existing gameplay with the developers.